Thinking of having a PC built: Seeking help, advice and suggestions

Malta Soron · Post by **Malta Soron** » Sat Dec 25, 2004 10:43 am

And with the Radeon 9xxx series the difference between nVidia and ATI has fallen away. Many Radeon cards are equal or superior to Geforce cards.

Rookierookie · Post by **Rookierookie** » Sun Dec 26, 2004 7:13 pm

Yep.

Too bad about the Radeon X series though

Ekental · Post by **Ekental** » Sun Dec 26, 2004 9:06 pm

[QUOTE=Rookierookie]An 80GB HDD will fill up faster than you can blink even if you aren't a download freak or aren't using it to record videos. 160GB is recommended.
[/QUOTE]

I disagree... I've been using a 20gb hd for 3 years.... it hasnt filled up yet. The other computers in my home are 40gb each.

I admit that it would be necessary if you regularly download large files.

fable · Post by **fable** » Mon Dec 27, 2004 9:20 am

Depends on use. If your PC will handle work-related activities and non-game home stuff (film and CD databases, recipes, etc), then yes, it could fill up. That's even more the case if you like to keep several recent large games on your computer.

Yeltsu · Post by **Yeltsu** » Mon Dec 27, 2004 1:45 pm

I have a 120gb that is constantly full.

Rookierookie · Post by **Rookierookie** » Mon Dec 27, 2004 7:19 pm

Currently I've used up 8GB of my 74.5GB capacity, and I only have a few utilities and one game installed.

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 3:09 am

[QUOTE=fable]Depends on use. If your PC will handle work-related activities and non-game home stuff (film and CD databases, recipes, etc), then yes, it could fill up. That's even more the case if you like to keep several recent large games on your computer.[/QUOTE]

*raises guilty hand*

It is precisely because of things like the above that I bought a second hard drive about a year ago... not to mention numerous large folders consisting of game plug-ins and three IM programmes.

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions and advice by the way, it is all much appreciated.

I'm not sure when I'll be getting a new machine, but I'm copying all the posts here for later reference.

Xandax · Post by **Xandax** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 3:50 am

[QUOTE=dragon wench]<snip>
and three IM programmes.

<snip>
[/QUOTE]

Why 3 programs?
Why not simply run 1 that can utilize more protocols

Personally - I run Trillian at work for both ICQ and MSN (yes - I use IM now

, although mostly only for work) - and it can also run Yahoo and AIM I think. There are other similar programs "out there".

Anyways -with the cost of harddisk space these days - it is not that expensive to get some "decent" amount of space for cheap money.
Personally - I run an 80GB drive wich is not to small yet but getting there - if I were to purchase a new I'd proberly go for 160GB or something instead.
HD space is cheap, so it is not really much one can save there.

Rob-hin · Post by **Rob-hin** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 8:51 am

It's cheap, but buying it because you can is not the idea. As said before, it depends ond use.

I have several games, a ton of mp3's and some movie material and my 37gb is filled up to 23gb. More then enough I'd say. The normal (average) user doesn't need 160gb... not even 80gb.

Xandax · Post by **Xandax** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 9:29 am

[QUOTE=Rob-hin]It's cheap, but buying it because you can is not the idea. As said before, it depends ond use.
<snip>[/QUOTE]

Actually - because of the price - I'd just as much recommend to buy it just because one can, because the need can arise quickly for harddisk space.
With computers I would *never* recommend buying what you need now or what your requierment is now.

Rob-hin · Post by **Rob-hin** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 10:23 am

[QUOTE=Xandax]Actually - because of the price - I'd just as much recommend to buy it just because one can, because the need can arise quickly for harddisk space.
With computers I would *never* recommend buying what you need now or what your requierment is now.[/QUOTE]

Well, my guess is that we'll never (or on the very very long run) need 160gb of disk space. But as I said, if you do a lott with movie editing then a large hd is usefull. I don't think the average user will need it though.

Sooner or later there will only be 160gb hd's though.

Xandax · Post by **Xandax** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 11:10 am

[QUOTE=Rob-hin]Well, my guess is that we'll never (or on the very very long run) need 160gb of disk space. But as I said, if you do a lott with movie editing then a large hd is usefull. I don't think the average user will need it though.

Sooner or later there will only be 160gb hd's though.[/QUOTE]

I thought the same when I purchased my first computer with its 20 MB harddrive where I didn't want to pay for 40 MB (back before upgrading was as easy as it is now).
And the same when I purchased my second computer with its 800 MB harddrive and my 4GB and my 20 GB and my current 80GB.

Programs and especially games explode in size as the harddrive space is there to accommodate it.
Just looking at Windows, then my C:\Windows currently takes up 2.60 GB, and my my games directory currently takes up 25GB and that is about 13 games (full installation) and some patches/misc files.
It is not uncommon for games to take up more then 2GB of space anymore, and I would estimate that in a few years 4GB wouldn't be uncommon.

When looking at the prices for harddisk storage, I'd say that it is far better to have to much space then to little, regardless of user-type.

Rob-hin · Post by **Rob-hin** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 12:54 pm

Perhaps you should install less games.

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 1:15 pm

[QUOTE=Xandax]Why 3 programs?
Why not simply run 1 that can utilize more protocols

Personally - I run Trillian at work for both ICQ and MSN (yes - I use IM now

, although mostly only for work) - and it can also run Yahoo and AIM I think. There are other similar programs "out there".[/QUOTE]

I have tried using Trillian but I have found it to be extremely unstable, prone to crashes and often it does not relay the whole of a message, so I uninstalled it. Though I have thought about looking for a similar programme. The thing is, I have lots of hard drive space, between my two drives, a total of 100 GB, so hard drive space is no longer an issue. I also agree that you can never have too big a hard drive...
It is this and having upped my RAM that has enabled me to keep on using my present computer.... but my processor, motherboard and video card are obselete (the monitor was taken care of over Christmas

), which is why I am at the point where it would be cheaper to have a new computer built, rather than obtaining successive parts. I have checked into just trying to replace the parts gradually.... it is dramatically cheaper to have a machine built as a bundle...

At least this is the case at the various shops in town that build. I know I could order components over the net, but I'm a bit wary of this. Once you take shipping costs and the exchange rate into account the savings do not seem that great. Plus, I'm just reluctant to order something like that sight unseen....

Ekental · Post by **Ekental** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 1:49 pm

[QUOTE=Xandax]Why 3 programs?
Why not simply run 1 that can utilize more protocols

Personally - I run Trillian at work for both ICQ and MSN (yes - I use IM now

, although mostly only for work) - and it can also run Yahoo and AIM I think. There are other similar programs "out there".

Anyways -with the cost of harddisk space these days - it is not that expensive to get some "decent" amount of space for cheap money.
Personally - I run an 80GB drive wich is not to small yet but getting there - if I were to purchase a new I'd proberly go for 160GB or something instead.
HD space is cheap, so it is not really much one can save there.[/QUOTE]

Well... sorry for spam but Trillian is a bit buggy
Not only that you cant use it for mIRC (Though mIRC is much more than an IM)

Rookierookie · Post by **Rookierookie** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 9:00 pm

Newer games regularly take up 4GB HDD space. Myst 4 takes up 8GB.

araknid70 · Post by **araknid70** » Wed Dec 29, 2004 12:38 pm

I just got a new computer 2 weeks ago. Specs:

- Athlon 64 3500+ on an MSI K8N Neo-2 Platinum (Nforce 3 Ultra)
- 2 x 512 Mb DDR400 PC3200 RAM (I think Corsair)
- Gainward Geforce 6800GT Golden Sample (It's been factory overclocked to Ultra speeds)
- 2 x 80 GB Seagate HDs, running a RAID 0 array
- LG multiformat DVD writer
- 1 x Floppy

No sound, and no peripherals, because I already have an Audigy NX 2 with 2.1 speakers, an LCD monitor, keyboard and mouse (although the motherboard comes with integrated sound). It cost me S$2500, free assembly by the computer shop. S$2500 is roughly US$1400 - however I suspect US prices will be different from Singapore prices, by maybe 100-200 US dollars. I have no idea about European prices, though UK prices are offensive in the extreme.

The most costly part of my PC is the video card. There's no requirement to buy a 6800 or an X800, but I was going for a high-end system that would drop to at most medium-end in 3-4 years time. At least, hopefully. I also wasn't prepared to pay US$500 or more for my graphics card. $400 US was my max, and since the Gainward GS has been factory overclocked, but retails at the same price as other 6800 GTs, I took it over an X800 Pro. Besides, the X800 Pro already performs worse than a vanilla 6800GT. However the Golden Sample is extremely rare because its overclocking is due to production quality and not additional fans and heat sinks. I have no idea what brands of video cards are available in the West, or if ATI and Nvidia sells their cards by their own brand name, unfortunately.

Also, X800s are notoriously hotter than 6800s, which was a consideration because I live in a tropical country (same too with the Athlon 64s).

One last recommendation - Laser mice are the norm nowadays for gaming. For an FPS player, what you DONT want is a lousy laser mouse, because lousy laser mouse produce alot of lag, which is irritating and causes dizzyness (for me). I suggest investing at least US $50 in a good mouse (Logitech or Razer).

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Wed Dec 29, 2004 3:44 pm

[QUOTE=araknid70]One last recommendation - Laser mice are the norm nowadays for gaming. For an FPS player, what you DONT want is a lousy laser mouse, because lousy laser mouse produce alot of lag, which is irritating and causes dizzyness (for me). I suggest investing at least US $50 in a good mouse (Logitech or Razer).[/QUOTE]

Cheers for the info

No worries regarding the mouse. I have had a Microsoft Optical Trackball for about a year; it is the best 'mouse' I have used.
lol! My set up is quite funny; I have a brand new LCD monitor (my games look lovely on it) , a Logitech ergonomic keyboard, an optical trackball.... and a 4-year-old computer with a truly prehistoric video card..

Rookierookie · Post by **Rookierookie** » Wed Dec 29, 2004 8:18 pm

I refuse to use trackballs.

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 2:06 pm

[QUOTE=Rookierookie]I refuse to use trackballs.[/QUOTE]
I'm curious, why is that?

IMO, it is just personal taste, but for me I find them far more ergonomic, much more space efficient and considerably easier to clean. I also find the control during game play much more finely-tuned.